A Very Weasley Christmas
by WizMonCruWil
Summary: So, this covers several Christmases in the Weasley household, from just after the Second Wizarding War through when Harry, Ron and Hermione's children go to Hogwarts. Many of these are cute and funny! Enjoy!
1. Christmas 1999

**Christmas 1999**

The snow fell heavily that winter in the wizarding village of Ottery St. Catchpole. Inside the cozy Burrow, the Weasley family and close friends were busy decorating the tree and preparing a delicious Christmas dinner.

Hermione Granger, one of these close friends and the girlfriend of Ron Weasley, was curled up in an armchair by the fire, reading a book. She was paying attention to the words on the page, but also privately deciding how best to bring her life back to somewhat normality.

The Second Wizarding War had concluded over a year and half ago, when Harry Potter, another close family friend and the boyfriend of Ginny Weasley, had defeated the dark wizard Lord Voldemort. To prepare for a dangerous, high-stakes mission to ensure the Dark Lord's defeat, Hermione had wiped her parent's memories and sent them to Australia to be safe. Ever since the war had ended, she had wanted to go to Australia and get her parents back, but she couldn't figure out how. Her parents had been there for over two years, why couldn't she figure out how to bring them home? Why hadn't she done it sooner?

Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard some groans. Looking back, she saw Harry and most of the Weasley men trying to lug a grand piano down the steps from the attic. It was a tradition that Christmas carols be played on it.

"Alright, my boys, hold it steady," coached Arthur. He must have spoken too soon, for suddenly, George slipped. The entire piano lurched to the side, pinning Harry between it and the stair railing with a loud DONG! Harry roared and cursed in pain:

"Ow, bloody hell! You got my finger!"

"Well, why don't you get your finger out of the way?" George asked pointedly. They continued their descent and shuffled into the sitting room past Hermione, before setting it down. "There you are," groaned Bill.

"Right on my finger." Harry growled.

"Are you alright, Harry?" asked Hermione. Her best friend nodded assuringly.

"Ok, you lot! Who's hungry? It's suppertime!" trilled Mrs. Weasley.

"Supper! Food! Hooray!" roared the men and they stampeded into the kitchen. Hermione followed slowly after them, rolling her eyes. Honestly, men could be such pigs. And indeed, they all were chowing down by the time she took her place at the table between Ginny and Fleur, Bill's wife. On Fleur's other side, Ron was gorging himself on suckling pig. Of course, food was his top priority in life (after his girlfriend), but he failed to notice the mustard on his lip.

"Uh, Ron?" Hermione prodded. Ron looked up and swallowed. "You've got a little…uh…smush…" When Ron didn't catch on right away, Hermione got up, walked around, and kissed it away. Ron smiled and then laughed before taking his thumb and wiping the mustard that was now on her lip.

"While I enjoyed that, best to use a napkin next time, love." he encouraged. Suddenly, Charlie pointed to something out the window.

"Who's that?"

A dark figure was approaching through the snowy flurries toward the Burrow. As it came closer, the family recognized him as Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"What's the Minister of Magic doing here?" George asked aloud. No one answered and a moment later, Kingsley knocked at the door. Molly immediately ran to open it.

"Hello, all," Kingsley greeted. "Happy Christmas. I hate to disturb you all on the holiday, but I have some important business to attend to concerning Ms. Granger." All eyes turned to Hermione, who had not yet had a chance to move back to her seat. Hermione nodded and followed Kingsley as he beckoned her into the sitting room. The Minister discreetly shut the door behind him and took out his wand. Guessing his intent, Hermione balked. "Oh, I don't mind if they hear, Minister. George won't try his Extendable Ears with his mother around." Kingsley shrugged and pocketed his wand before turning to face her.

"Ms. Granger, as I recall, you performed a Memory Charm on your parents to hide them during the war effort. I know how busy you have been since those times have ended and have not had a chance to get them back. Young Mr. Weasley took note of this and personally asked a team of our top Aurors and myself to conduct an investigation to find them as a favor. We were hoping to surprise you today with their arrival, but…not everything went as planned."

Hermione's face went white and she sank into the nearest armchair. Somehow, she knew exactly what was going to come next. She let out a scream of anguish and burst into uncontrolled sobs. All of the Weasleys came running, Ron in the lead. He quickly took Hermione into his arms and began to stroke her hair before shooting a glare at Kingsley. "What did you do to her?!" the youngest Weasley boy roared.

Kingsley assured Ron that he had not done anything to her. "You have no idea how hard it is to bring this news, especially at Christmas." Hermione sniffled and turned her face out of Ron's shirtfront to look at Kingsley.

"What- what happened to them?" she asked, even though she already knew the answer.

"Hermione, I'm afraid your parents passed away, about this time two years ago. We believe they were killed by Death Eaters hunting for clues about you and Harry's whereabouts…specifically killed, we think, by Bellatrix Lestrange."

Hermione seemed strangely subdued at this new revelation. She stepped out of Ron's embrace and turned away, murmuring almost to herself. "You mean…I'm an orphan, now."

Ron reached out, and squeezed her hand. "I love you, Hermione Granger."

She turned and smiled softly at him. "And I love you," she sighed as she slipped back into his arms, lying her head on his chest. Ron rested his chin on her head, thoughts swirling through his mind. _Bellatrix_ ….the name sent a angry fire burning through his heart. His eyes shifted to look through the window opposite him; he could almost see the sadistic witch reflected in the dark panes. Ron began to cry furious tears and his body shook with a thousand different emotions.

"So, that's your legacy, eh? That's something to be proud of? You kill my brother, threaten my sister, murder my best mate's godfather, torture the love of my life _and_ kill her innocent parents in cold blood?! I wish my mum hadn't offed you; she should have left you to me. I wish I could find the sorry little hole you're buried in, dig you up, bring you back to life and _destroy_ you all over again. I hate you! I  hate you!"

Hermione trembled in Ron's arms. Ron was willing to kill over his love and concern for her. The thought was both warming and disturbing. She slid out of his arms once again and looked at Kingsley. "What will happen to me now?" she asked. She was surprised by how Ron spun her around to face him.

"Don't worry, Hermione," he rambled, as if he did not have the time to get the words out. "I'll take care of you. I'll make sure you're never sad or in danger ever again!"

"Of course, we all will," Mrs. Weasley agreed. Then, all at once, she and the rest of the family present enveloped Hermione into a big group hug. For the first time that night, Hermione felt like things would turn out all right.


	2. Christmas 2002

**Christmas 2002**

The tent of the marquee sagged under the weight of the new fallen snow. Arthur quickly pointed his wand at the substance and murmured "Aguamenti!" The snow melted to water and cascaded off the top to be sucked up by the snow below it.

From the window of Ginny's bedroom, Hermione watched this and other various activities as people prepared for the most important day of her life. Today, she and Ron would be getting married.

For some, a Christmas wedding had seemed impractical, but to Hermione, the thought of her dress matching the blanched landscape around her had appeared very intriguing and romantic. Besides, scheduling the ceremony on a holiday did have some perks. It had meant the whole family would be gathered together anyway, no one would forget to come and (for future reference) Ron would never, ever forget the date of his anniversary, as many husbands were prone to do. Hermione gave a small smile at this last point. Sometimes, her cleverness even amazed her.

Ron and Hermione's big day was simply one in a canonical series of Weasley weddings. Percy had married his girlfriend from work, Audrey, back in the summer of 2000. Harry and Ginny had followed last year, not long after that terrible Muggle attack on America. The wizarding press had been in a virtual tug-of-war between these two massive stories for days leading up to the ceremony. Now, it was Ron and Hermione's turn. George and his girlfriend, Angelina Johnson, would likely bring up the rear next year or the following one.

Hermione was startled out of her thoughts by a knock at the door. She called that it was open, and her mother-in-law-to-be poked her head in.

"We're ready for you now, dear," she said. Hermione took a deep breath and rose in her strapless white dress, the tiara from Great Aunt Muriel already upon her head. Molly gave her a watery smile and pulled her in for a tight hug. Nothing need be said; Molly was overjoyed to have the girl she had loved as a second daughter become one through marriage.

The bride proceeded down the stairs, through the Burrow's kitchen and out to the lawn. Waiting for her was her best friend. Harry had been Superman in agreeing to be Ron's best man and walk Hermione down the aisle in the absence of her father. He smiled warmly at her.

"You look beautiful, Hermione," he told her. Hermione smiled at the man who was like the brother she never had, and would soon be her brother-in-law. The friends waited as the music picked up and the procession began. Harry then offered her his arm. "Shall we?" Hermione took it gratefully and they began the trip down the aisle to the head of the marquee.

Hermione's heart almost stopped when she saw Ron standing there. He looked devilishly handsome in his tuxedo, even if the colors clashed mercilessly with his red hair. He was staring at her as if he had never seen her before; like she was something descended from heaven. Harry and Hermione reached the altar, and Harry took her hand and placed it in Ron's. The Chosen One made to go stand beside his best mate to begin his second role, but Hermione stopped him. Warmly and full of love, she kissed him on the cheek and said softly "Thank you."

There was a collective aww from the audience and a few people were already crying at the adorable sight. Harry blushed furiously at Hermione's kiss. As he passed Ron, he hissed to him "If you hurt her, I will hunt you down and kill you." ….not realizing his lavalier microphone had been turned on. Ron just chuckled awkwardly. It was payment in kind; an old joke, for he had said the exact same words to Harry at his wedding last year. Some in the audience, though, didn't realize this and there was a slight gasp. Harry looked mortified, but was saved by George, who stood up and yelled "It's a joke, folks! They're best friends; very protective of the bride."

Hermione laughed and scanned the familiar faces. There was hardly anyone who she didn't know. Everyone who loved her was here. Well…almost everyone. Her breath hitched and a lump caught in her throat as she remembered her parents weren't there, and couldn't be, to support. All at once, tears came to her eyes and she flung herself into Ron's arms. Ron didn't ask what was wrong; he probably already knew.

"They should be here," Hermione wept loudly, and she beat on his muscular chest with her fist in frustration. "They should be here for my wedding!"

"They should be," Ron agreed stoically. He tried to ignore the flurry of camera flashes as the insensitive paparazzi captured this latest development. He leaned back to look into her eyes and wiped away her tears with his thumb. "Let's get married, 'Mione. Let's get married and have a good time for them. Ok?"

Hermione nodded, and the ceremony began. Rings were exchanged and heartfelt vows were made. Finally, the minister proclaimed Ron and Hermione husband and wife. They kissed and everyone cheered.

* * *

The reception was lively and festive. Ron and Hermione had their first dance as a couple, and then the bride was passed between her father-in-law and numerous brothers-in-law. Hermione even danced with Bill and Fleur's daughter, Victoire. She was only going to be 3 that coming May. Hermione felt truly blessed to be a part of such a big and loving family. As she leaned against her new husband, she saw that snow had resumed falling outside the marquee. And, she could almost swear, she saw two familiar figures amongst the flurries watching the proceedings and smiling. Her parents were probably so very proud of her. Hermione grinned up at Ron and gently kissed him. She had to admit, her life was turning out to be very magical.


	3. Christmas 2005

**Christmas 2005**

Christmas Eve was always a magical night at the Burrow. Hell, the whole holiday season was, but Hermione had to admit that the festivities grew bigger and bigger each year. Molly Weasley had now gotten into the habit of cooking two dinners, one for the Eve and one for the actual holiday.

"Mum, you work yourself too hard," at least one of the children or children-in-law would say. Mrs. Weasley would just brush this off, and sit back satisfactorily as her family dug in and someone would then say how she had outdone herself from last year's dinners.

The family had already begun to expand. Bill and Fleur had welcomed their second child, Dominique, in July of 2003. Percy and Audrey had had a girl, Molly II, in April 2004, and George and Angelina had gotten married that summer. Oh yeah, and little James Potter II also came along, in March of 2004, just six weeks before miniature Molly. At almost two years old, he was already a little devil. Hermione recalled that Harry had been as nervous as a cat on the day his son was born, running around frantically trying to get Ginny to the hospital. At one point, he had tripped, crashed into Ron and both men fell down the stairs, fracturing several bones. It had been quite a mess at St. Mungo's that day, but was now a baby story that was sure to be followed by more funny ones to come.

Hermione's thoughts were interrupted as George suddenly stood up and chinked his glass to get everyone's attention. He then turned to his wife, obviously looking to her to tell whatever it was that had to be told. Angelina looked like she was about ready to burst from excitement.

"I'm pregnant!" she squealed. Everyone smiled and started to applaud, as had now become standard procedure, when a sudden shriek made them all jump.

"No way!" Audrey cried. "Me, too!"

"Moi aussi!" Fleur suddenly cut in, looking disappointed that someone had already beaten her to the punch.

Ginny grimaced. "I guess this is a bad time to, uh, fourth that?..."

Charlie, the only Weasley son who had not married, threw back his head and groaned. "Oh my god!"

Mrs. Weasley burst into tears. She jumped up and ran to her daughters, hugging the life out of them. Her husband laughed heartily and threw his arms over Bill and Percy's shoulders. "Oh, wait 'till I tell this at the Ministry!" he chortled.

Hermione bit her lip as she watched her family devolve into chaotic excitement. All the women were asking each other how far along they were; it seemed the babies would be born within weeks of each other. Hermione felt truly happy for everyone, but could not shake the feeling of being left out. She tried hiding it for a little while by passing congratulations all around. Eventually, though, she could not contain it any longer and promptly left the table for upstairs with a small "Excuse me." Harry and Ron quickly noticed her departure and looked at each other. Both simultaneously got up, but then paused and regarded each other. Without saying a word and communicating only with their eyes, they slowly sat back down again. The family had stopped all chatter to watch the exchange. Ginny just shook her head, amused.

"I swear, sometimes I wonder if you two share a brain when it comes to her!" she observed. Everyone chuckled knowingly and resumed eating and discussing babies.

* * *

The moon was high in the sky that night when Hermione was pulled out of sleep. She had been dreaming of babies and one had not stopped crying. Now, she realized there actually was a baby crying. Assuming that one of the parents would take care of it, she waited for the wailing to abate. When it didn't after several minutes, she quietly got up to investigate.

Slipping down the hall, she gently pushed on the door that led to the spare room. It had been converted into a guest nursery for the grandchildren, and currently housed three cribs; at 5 years old already, Victoire slept in a trundle bed in the guest room that belonged to her parents. The whole family always spent a few nights at the Burrow over the Christmas holiday. Hermione identified the source of the cries immediately.

"Ssh, ssh, James, it's alright. Aunt Hermione's here. Did you have a bad dream? Aw, well I did too. Come on, Aunt Hermione will hold you." She grunted a little as she picked him up; he had already gotten quite big, and began to rock him gently. Her nephew and godson slowly began to calm and let out a yawn. Turning his face into her nightgown and gripping it with his tiny hands, he fell asleep. Hermione smiled. She would never forget when she had first held him, after Harry had asked her and Ron in a heartfelt request to be James's godparents. She wondered if she would feel the same when she had her own child. If she ever had her own child…

"You're his favorite, you know." Hermione jumped at the voice and whirled around to see a bleary-eyed Harry leaning against the doorframe. He smiled softly. "He won't fall asleep that fast for anyone else – not Audrey, not Fleur, not Angelina… hell, not even Ginny."

"I'm sorry," Hermione began. "He woke me up and no one was coming right away, so…"

"That's alright," Harry interrupted, as he strolled over and watched as Hermione gingerly placed his son back into his crib. "You're his godmother; he'll give you good practice for later when…" He paused when he saw Hermione visibly stiffen. "'Mione? Are you alright?"

Hermione, whose back was now to him, nodded. "Yes, I'm fine. It's just…" A brief silence, and then she burst into tears. The next second she was being pulled into Harry's arms, and he was rocking her back and forth like the baby she had just lulled to sleep. Hermione buried her face into her brother-in-law's nightshirt, so as to muffle her sobs and not wake the grandchildren. Besides her husband, Harry was the only man who could hold her like this and she would still be comfortable.

"Hush, now. It's all right." Harry soothed.

"Oh, I want a baby so bad!" Hermione blubbered.

"And you and Ron will get there eventually. Trust me. You'll make amazing parents."

"But what if we don't get there? What if something's wrong in our ability to conceive?" Another horrid thought struck her. "What if I became sterile because of my torture? What if I – if I can't – Ron won't want to stay; he'll leave me!"

"Now stop it!" Harry hissed, a dash of firmness in his voice. He gently pushed her back and gave her a little shake. "If there is one thing you're husband is, it's that he's loyal – to the end. Nothing can change the way Ron feels about you. Nothing." He pulled her back into his arms. "I highly doubt Bellatrix could have damaged your reproductive system with the bloody Cruciatus Curse. And if, by some cruel twist of fate, she did, it's just one more reason for Ron and I to hate her, for me to blame myself, and for Ron to ride my ass about how it's my fault when he's had one too many butterbeers."

Hermione wanted to refute his culpability in her torture, but she could only laugh and hiccup through her tears. She looked up into his face. "I love you, big bro."

Harry grinned. "I love you too, sis."

"Everything ok?" Both turned to see Ron in the doorway. Hermione slipped out of Harry's arms and flew into Ron's. Her husband did not seem fazed. He had learned long ago to not worry about his wife's feelings towards Harry. His two best friends cared for each other like siblings. When Hermione wouldn't let go and remained quiet, Ron glanced at Harry, and his brother-in-law filled in the details.

"Don't worry about it anymore," Ron murmured to his wife. "You are already a fantastic godmother and aunt – and you will make a bloody amazing mum when the time is right. Come on, let's go back to bed." They crept down the hall to their guest room and slipped into bed. Harry made to follow them out, then glanced back at the nursery. He could already imagine it a lot more full by this time next year. Smiling, he closed the door.


	4. Christmas 2008

**Christmas 2008**

Sunlight streamed in through Ron and Hermione's guest bedroom on Christmas morning. Hermione stirred and rolled over to see her husband smiling at her. He kissed her good morning. "Happy Christmas, love."

"Happy Christmas, Ron," she returned. When there was a bit of silence, she prodded. "Honey? Isn't there something else you should say?"

Ron blinked in recognition. "Oh, right," and her kissed her again. "Happy Anniversary."

Hermione laughed. "I schedule our wedding deliberately on a holiday, and yet you still forget! But maybe that's part of why I love you…you prat."

Ron grinned and shifted out of bed. "Come on, let's go wake the kids. I'm starving."

As fate would have it, Hermione discovered she was pregnant not long after her meltdown in the nursery a few Christmases before. Summer of 2006 had been 3 hellish months of one baby being born after another into the Weasley family. First came Fred II for George and Angelina in June, followed mere weeks later by Lucy for Percy and Audrey. Bill and Fleur had their only son, Louis, that July. Finally, Albus Severus Potter had burst onto the scene in August, followed days later by an early Rose, a darling girl, for Ron and Hermione.

Meanwhile, earlier this year, Hermione had had her son, Hugo Weasley, in April 2008. He was what looked like the final grandchild in a long line of Weasleys, after Roxanne was born to George and Angelina in January of that year and Lily Potter came only in February. With a laugh, Hermione realized that at least one Weasley family member had a birthday in every month of the year. She could only imagine that Molly probably kept a Muggle calendar, scribbled with the birthdays of every member of the family on it.

After gathering the children, Ron and Hermione trapsed down to the kitchen for a delicious breakfast of pancakes. The table had to be magically extended now to accommodate everyone. After everyone had had their fill and dressed for the day, Harry hollered, "Who wants to play a game of Quidditch?" They were wild shrieks and war whoops, and Molly could only shake her head. Every year, the adults played a pick-up game of Quidditch in the backyard, which Ron had grandly named the Weasley Christmas Quidditch Classic. There were always the die-hard fans, like him, Bill, Ginny, Angelina, Harry and Charlie, who loved it, and then there were others, mostly the women, who tolerated it (and by that, it meant they got bored and fell asleep halfway through the game).

Soon, the entire family was marching up the small hill overlooking the Burrow, some with broomsticks over their shoulders, others with babies in their arms, still others toting lawn chairs and everyone bundled up.

People quickly started picking teams. As it was being decided who got to choose first, Hermione noticed an argument going on close to her.

"Absolutely not, Beel! I will not 'ave Victoire wobbling around on that thing! She eez too little!"

"Fleur, love, she's going to be 9 next year. I think she's definitely old enough to learn. Besides, someone will be flying within feet of her at all times – usually me – to keep her safe."

The argument went on a little longer, but eventually Fleur relented. The teams made their final selections: Harry, Ginny, George, Bill, Arthur, Audrey and Victoire on one team with Charlie, Percy, Ron, Angelina, Fleur, Andromeda Tonks and 10-year-old Teddy Lupin on the other.

The game began in earnest and was going well. It was a very close match, as it should have been. It would not have been fair to put Ginny and Angelina, both professional Qudditch players before marriage and kids, on the same team. Otherwise, one team was virtually ensured defeat. As the Quaffle was passed back and forth, it was suddenly flipped to Bill. He slowed slightly so he could pass the ball to his daughter, who was flying next to him.

"Alright, sweetie, I'm gonna flip it to you! Bend over your broom to go forward and try for a long completion!" Victoire sped forward and Bill hurled the Quaffle in her direction. Victoire turned to catch it…a few seconds too late. The Quaffle hit her in the stomach full-bore, and in her struggle to get a grip on it, the little girl fell off her broom with a scream. Far below, Molly, Hermione and the other children watched in horror.

"Victoire! My baby!" screamed Fleur.

Harry jerked his broom into a dizzying dive, plunging to the ground at an almost unstoppable speed. They were almost to Earth when…

"Gotcha!" Harry caught his niece in mid-air just a few feet from the ground. Sighs of relief and a great cheer went up.

"Alright, Potteykins!" George crowed. Harry flew back up to the others with Victoire in his arms. Fleur flew to meet them, reaching out her hands; the look of terror on her face had not completely receded. Victoire had her face buried in her uncle's shirtfront, equally as terrified – so much so, that she wouldn't move. Harry laughed.

"You can let go now, Victoire," he told her. Gently, Victoire transferred herself from Harry's broom to Fleur's. Fleur kissed Harry on both cheeks.

"Zat eez ze second time you have saved one of my family's life, 'Arry! Merci!"

Harry grinned. "All in a day's work, Fleur."

Ginny came speeding over to check on Victoire. When she was sure the girl was unharmed, she turned and promptly whacked her husband upside the head.

"Harry Potter, don't ever do that again! You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Yes, dear," Harry conceded, but the smile had not left his face.

The game was abruptly called off following that escapade, but it was almost time for lunch anyway. The family strolled back to the Burrow, talking, laughing and Fleur scolding her husband mercilessly in French.


	5. Christmas 2011

**Christmas 2011**

It was the week before Christmas, and Molly was preparing to have her large family come and stay with her for the holidays. After cooking for most of the morning, her children and their families began to arrive at the Burrow. But there were two people noticeably absent; two certain kids who had recently been attending Hogwarts…

As the afternoon wore on and the family engaged in small talk around the kitchen table, Arthur Weasley had the increasing suspicion that he had forgotten something. He sat up suddenly in his chair, horrified.

"Merlin! I forgot to get the kids from King's Cross!"

"Well, at least you can Apparate," Ron pointed out.

"No, that would be far too risky, especially around Muggles," rambled Arthur as he scrambled about looking for his keys. "I'll take the car!"

"Is it reliable?" asked Harry. The last time Mr. Weasley had owned a car, he had had it hijacked by his youngest son and future son-in-law so they could get to Hogwarts for their second year…where Ron had spectacularly crashed it into the Whomping Willow.

"Certainly, my boy! I'll go fetch them straight away!"

"Don't bother!" came a voice from the door. Everyone turned to see Victoire standing in the doorway, fresh from her first term at Hogwarts. Beside her was Teddy Lupin. Molly rushed to them and began to fuss as only she could.

"Merlin, my dears! How did you get here?"

"We walked," Teddy shrugged.

"But you must be half frozen! Come warm yourself by the fire!"

Victoire, who had been wearing Teddy's coat, ran over and hugged her mother before starting an animated conversation with her in French. Teddy plopped himself down in the living room to warm up. After a moment, he returned. All the adults glanced up and smiled as he entered.

"I think you forgot to say hello, my boy," Arthur gently reminded him.

"Right!" said Teddy, flushed with embarrassment. He ran around the table, greeting everyone with a hug or peck on the cheek one by one: "Uncle Bill, Aunt Fleur, Uncle Charlie, Uncle Percy, Aunt Audrey, Uncle George, Aunt Angelina, Uncle Ron, Aunt Hermione, Uncle Harry, Aunt Ginny, Grandma Molly and Grandpa Arthur." He also playfully ruffled the hair of all the younger children.

Teddy Lupin was the quasi- 13th grandchild of the Weasley household. Ever since his parents had passed away in the Battle of Hogwarts and his biological maternal grandmother had died of old age two years before, the Weasleys had accepted him as one of their own. In return, Teddy was fiercely loyal to them, and even referred to them as his "family" in public.

"So, Teddy," said Charlie, as he slapped a hand on the boy's shoulder. "You're the man of this youngest lot; what's Hogwarts like?"

"I love it," Teddy confessed. He couldn't believe he was already in his third year. "Victoire can tell you other stuff, as well, but the teachers are really nice. We're starting to learn more advanced spells, like ones to repel Boggarts. Ridikulus, I think is how it goes."

Harry chuckled. "You know, your father taught us that same spell in Defense Against the Dark Arts when we were your age."

Teddy grinned. He never got tired of his godfather telling him stories about his father and mother. His eyes widened as he suddenly remembered something.

"Oh yeah! And my year's starting to visit Hogsmeade! Perfect way to get some Christmas shopping done!" He dug through his trunk underneath the table and passed around gifts to everyone in the family. All the aunts and uncles got something special, while his younger cousins received candy from Honeydukes.

* * *

Following dinner, the family gathered into the living room to let everyone open one gift before Christmas Day. The Weasleys had decided to do this the week before rather than the day before to reward the grandchildren for finishing up their schooling. As everyone was getting situated, Arthur stole a glance at Ron and Harry. He winked at them, and they grinned. Arthur then asked them a little loudly, "Hey, guys, I think I left my Muggle wallet in the toolshed. Can you guys help me find it?" The three men slipped out the door. The rest of the adults grinned; the grandchildren didn't notice.

When the opening of presents was done, there came a sudden knock on the door. "I'll get it," offered Molly, knowing full well what was on the other side. She opened the door.

"Look who we found lost in the snow by our house!" said Ron dramatically. He and Harry parted to allow Santa Clause himself to step into the Burrow.

"Ho, ho, ho!" he laughed. The kids looked up.

"SANTA!" they screeched and rushed at him en masse. Besides Teddy and Victoire, none of them realized that the jolly fellow was really their grandfather. "Santa" plopped down on the couch and began to set the kids on his knee one by one, asking them what they wanted for Christmas. Teddy and Victoire played along, and had the good graces not to ruin the secret for the little ones. However, Roxanne, who would be turning four in just a few weeks, was suspicious, as she tried to tug down on the little white beard to see what was behind it. Arthur handled it like a pro, pretending to chortle and deftly keeping the beard from falling down. George and Angelina tried to help by admonishing their daughter. "It's not nice to pull Santa's beard!" Angelina chided. Unfortunately, Roxanne's inquisitiveness got some of the other kids going, as Lily and then Rose would try to do the same thing.

"Santa doesn't like it when you pull his beard, sweetie!" Hermione told her daughter, smiling. Ron couldn't keep a straight face, as he laughed while taking pictures of his little girl pulling on the damned thing.

Thanks to some quick thinking by the parents, however, the potentially catastrophic disaster of Santa's true identity being revealed was averted. It would have to be another Christmas before the kids realized who the man in the red suit was.


	6. Christmas 2014

**Christmas 2014**

Christmas that year seemed to come suddenly. On the very last day of November, a blizzard swept through the English countryside. By the time it came around for the family to gather once again at the Burrow, everyone was practically frozen.

"Power outages have been going throughout London," Harry told his mother-in-law, as the Potters stepped, shivering, into the Burrow. "Have you and Arthur had any troubles?" Molly reassured him they had not, but trusted her husband to know how to fix the Muggle electrical system in the event of an emergency. It seemed, however, that it was only a matter of time before such a problem arose. The antics of the power grid had forced its way into the mainstream wizarding media, and near hysteria had set it when the Hogwarts Express was a day late pulling out of the station at Hogwarts to bring kids home to King's Cross. The teachers had handled it like pros, transfiguring sleeping bags for the students to stay in the Great Hall. In the end, Victoire, Teddy and Dominique, who had just begun her first year at Hogwarts, were able to return home safely.

* * *

On Christmas Eve, the family gathered around the table once again for a delicious Christmas dinner. Once that was all finished, the grandchildren ran into the living room to watch holiday movies. The Muggle TV channel ABC Family always played classic Christmas stories; it was a key tradition for this time of year. As the children were watching Frosty the Snowman (or "Freezy," as Ron liked to call it just to annoy his wife), there was a sudden and sharp crackle. The next second, all the power in the Burrow went out.

Screams went up, and some of the younger children began to cry at the sudden halt in entertainment. But, cooler heads prevailed, and soon wand tips illuminated the room. Arthur took Bill and Charlie out back to investigate the fuse box, while everyone else stayed inside. When the men came back, they had bad news:

"We're going to have to have a mechanic look at this thing. We'll go into town in the morning and ask around." Until then, the Weasleys would be stuck with no power for at least one night. 6-year old Hugo was not pleased.

"What's Christmas without movies?" he asked. "How are we supposed to have fun now?" Hermione reassured her son that there were lots of things they could do together to have fun. Pretty soon, the rooms were decently lit with candles in addition to wands, and the family could now better ponder what to do next. Ideas were passed around and voted on. Ron's brilliant contribution was to read everyone The Night Before Christmas out loud. Teddy shot the idea down, saying, and I quote, "That's the kind of stuff American politicians read from when they try to filibuster." Unfortunately, the American concept of democracy and majority rule were also prevailing in this family pow-wow, and all the adults overruled the objection with their votes. So, Ron picked up the treasured book and began to read:

"Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring: not even a mouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there…"

Victoire scanned the faces of all her cousins. Their expressions were all over the spectrum, from rapture to boredom to downright torture. Her eyes finally found Teddy's. He quickly made a finger gun, put it to his head and proceeded to blow his brains out. She stifled a giggle and blushed. When Uncle Ron had finally finished the story, everyone wanted to know what they should do next. Dominique, ever the dramatic one, suggested they put on an impromptu play. The subject: the Nativity, which seemed cliché, until Dominique made a bigger pronouncement: it was to be a musical. She pushed all the adults out of the room, then began to direct her cousins in putting on a show, commanding from the seat of the grand piano. Many of the grandchildren were resistant at first, but slowly began to warm up to the idea. They would pick songs, some of which had absolutely nothing to do with Christmas, and then argue about where to put them in the story (or if they even belonged in the story at all).

Finally, Dominique called all the adults back into the living room. She proceeded to proudly present her magnum opus:

"And it came to pass in those days that the emperor of Rome, Caesar Augustus, decreed that everyone should be taxed in the land of his birth…" All at once, the grandchildren began to sing about accounting and how unhappy they were, until James, who was playing Joseph, expressed the desire to become a Broadway producer. The scene then progressed to an empty field. "And there were shepherds out in the fields keeping watch over their flocks by night." Dominique narrated. The youngest grandchildren were brought out covered in cotton balls; Lily sneezed, and some of them fell off. The shepherds then began to sing the carol _While by my Sheep_ , with the sheep sporadically baa-ing in between. The Three Kings were introduced next, played by Teddy, Louis and Fred. Teddy and Louis were dressed appropriately as kings, but Fred was dressed as The King; i.e. Elvis. He began to sing his crooning hit, _Are You Lonesome Tonight?_ , to the laugher and whoops of the parents. Finally everyone was gathered at the manger to celebrate the birth of Jesus. For the grand finale, Rose, who was playing Mary, began to sing _For the First Time in Forever_ from the Disney hit "Frozen." Once the adults had all applauded, Dominique took out a pitch pipe and played a note on it. For the encore, she had given her cousins a crash course in how to sing _The Twelve Days of Christmas_. But this wasn't the conventional song. This was the version written by the Muggle acapella group Straight No Chaser, and would be performed as such. The grandkids very effectively steered their way through multiple Christmas tunes, finally concluding with the classic "Christmas Down in Africa." The performance received a standing ovation, and all the adults asked that the show become a family tradition from then on. Dominique eagerly nodded, and promised that the show's score would be significantly expanded for next year.

After the events of the night, no one wanted to go to bed, but the parents reminded them that Santa wouldn't come if they weren't asleep. As Hermione tucked Hugo into bed, she asked him, "So, did you have fun tonight?" Hugo thought for a moment before answering, "Mummy, I had the funnest time ever!" No one could argue with that.


	7. Christmas 2017

**Christmas 2017**

"Are we there yet?"

"For Merlin's sake, Albus, we get there when we get there!" scolded Victoire. She knew she shouldn't have been so hard on him; he was only in his first year at Hogwarts, and here she was, already halfway through her seventh and final year. And, it was Christmas, after all.

The Hogwarts Express thundered through the English countryside, steaming towards Kings Cross Station. The Weasley cousins – minus Roxanne, Lily and Hugo, who were still too little for Hogwarts – had taken control of an entire compartment for themselves. None of them could wait to share their stories about the school with the rest of the family. This year would be particularly interesting, as five of the grandchildren had just begun their first year: a Weasley record. The Sorting Hat had practically had a mental breakdown (if hats could even have breakdowns) as he sorted Weasley after Weasley into Gryffindor – the way it had always been, and likely the way it always would be.

Finally, a loud, low whistle could be heard and the train considerably slowed. They had arrived. The cousins gathered their trunks and everyone bounded off. James turned to his oldest cousin. "Who's picking us up again, Vic?"

"Teddy said he was going to." Their adopted cousin had already graduated from Hogwarts almost two years before. As the group tried to navigate their way through the crowd, Albus tripped and collided into one of the many bodies congesting the train platform.

"Watch it, twerp!" came a male voice and a pair of hands roughly shoved him. It was a seventh year boy and several of his mates; Albus recalled that they all played for the Slytherin Quidditch team. The youngest Potter boy stumbled back into his older brother, who only now took notice of the commotion.

"Everything alright?"

"Yeah, just manhandled by some Slytherin blokes." James could identify the boys easily; they were stealing glances at Albus and clearly laughing at him. The cousins soon reached the barrier and had pushed their way back into the Muggle world. They quickly spotted Teddy leaning against a pillar a few feet away. Smiling, he sauntered over to them.

"Happy Christmas, all!" he greeted, kissing Victoire; the pair had begun dating not too long before he had graduated from Hogwarts. He ruffled everybody else's hair affectionately; the cousins smiled endearingly up at their de facto leader. "Grandma's gone mad; she'd cooked at least eight platters of food by the time I left. Oh, and Roxy, Lils and Hugo are dying to see all of you." Everyone laughed, except Albus, of which Teddy took note. He knelt down in front of him.

"What's the matter, Bucko?" employing the nickname he had used for him since Al was a baby.

Albus angrily wiped at his face with his sleeve. "I bumped into some seventh years on the platform and they were making fun of me. They called me twerp." As if on cue, raucous laughter could be heard above the crowd. Teddy turned to see the boys had not given up their sport of using Albus as comic relief. Teddy's eyes narrowed dangerously. If there was one thing that made his blood boil, it was people insulting the Weasleys. Even nearly twenty years after the Dark Lord's fall, some wizards still looked down upon the large brood as "blood traitors." As his godfather had done before him, the son of Remus Lupin took it upon himself to defend the family who had taken him in when he had had none. That being said, Teddy marched with purpose up to the seventh years, his adopted cousins following behind him nervously.

"I heard you were dissing my family," Teddy said flatly to them. The boy who had pushed Albus, obviously disturbed by Teddy's directness, tried to look cool in front of his mates by awkwardly laughing the accusation off.

"I don't even know your family, loser."

Emboldened by Teddy's bravery, Molly II cried, "You do now!" and slapped the drink the boy was holding out of his hands.

"My pumpkin juice!" the boy cried in dismay.

But that was the least of his problems, for just then Molly shoved the boy hard. The others joined in, and the four Slytherins were soon being bull-rushed by 10 Weasley relatives. A brawl ensued. Just then, the cousins and boys found themselves being thrown every which way.

"Come on, come on, break it up!" Harry roared. The Slytherins beat it, not wanting to face the wand of the great Harry Potter. The Weasleys would not be so lucky. They looked up to see Harry's face contorted in fury. He pointed to the door of the station.

"Into the Ford Anglia, NOW!" he growled. The kids trudged slowly towards the door, then picked up the pace when Harry hollered, "Let's go!" Everyone got into the magically extended car and began the long drive home. Harry sat silently in the driver's seat. The kids began whispering to each other.

"Now we're in for it," said Louis.

"What do we do?" asked Lucy.

"Pray our parents won't jinx us to death, if Uncle Harry doesn't bury us alive and dance on our graves first," suggested Fred. "I've never seen him so angry."

"I have," said Rose quietly. "Thanksgiving last year, I was up getting some water and the adults were drinking. Daddy had too much and tried to do, um... stuff with Mummy in public. Uncle Harry had to pry him off her; I think he was this close to smacking Dad."

"Blimey," said James. "And I thought my Mum was the hornet of the family." None of them noticed Harry smirk through the overhead mirror.

* * *

Soon after, however, the smile was gone from Harry's face. All of the Weasley cousins, except for Roxanne, Lily and Hugo, were lined up firing-squad style in the living room. Harry paced back and forth slowly behind them; the other parents watched from perches on the furniture.

"You beat up some Slytherins in front of Muggles. That is so wrong. Funny, but wrong." Every word was drawn out slowly on purpose. "Now, who was the mastermind of the brawl at King's Cross?"

There was a long silence until Louis and Fred stepped forward. Harry eyed them for a moment. "Step back, please," he said at last. Louis and Fred got back in line. Harry then walked behind them, his hand passing over each child's head. "Beep. Beep. Beep," he went, like a metal detector would. "Beep. Beep, beep, beep, beep. Beep. Beep. Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep." His hand had passed over, then came back to rest on, Molly. He bent over and whispered in her ear. "You have a dark gift, Molly Weasley II."

"Yeah, and it's going to cost everyone a month's allowance." Bill added. When the kids began to protest, he yelled, "Do you want to make it two?" Silence reigned again.

"Actually, Bill, allowance withdrawal probably ain't gonna cut it for this. I was thinking nothing for Christmas might be punishment enough." Ron mused. The grandkids' mouths fell open, and Teddy gave an awkward laugh. He couldn't be serious, but Ron was not smiling. "Roxy, Lily and Hugo will get presents. They didn't disturb the peace in a public place. In the Muggle world, that could get you written up at minimum, thrown in jail max. Thank Merlin most of you are still minors." He turned to the parents. "We still have to discuss it. Until we decide, all of you in your room now. Don't come down 'till we tell you." All the cousins trudged upstairs to the large bonus room that was the room they all stayed in. Roxy, Lily and Hugo joined them, even though they weren't at fault. Everyone sat in silence for a long time. There was nothing to say. Finally, Teddy spoke up:

"I'm sorry. This is my fault. I was trying to protect all of you. I should watch my temper whenever someone insults our family."

"No, it was mine," Molly refuted. "I made the first move; I slapped the drink out of that boy's hand."

"It's everybody's fault," James said to the room at large. "We all played some role."

Lily tugged on Teddy's sleeve. "Teddy?"

"Yes, baby?"

"Roxy, Hugo and I can go talk to the parents. We'll give up our presents so you can have yours."

Teddy got a lump in his throat. He would never admit it, but he was a sucker for generosity, no matter how trivial the gesture. Still, he shook his head.

"Thanks, guys, but I think I'm going to go talk with the parents. Say what you want, I started it. I just goaded you guys on; I set a bad example." So saying, he got up and left the room.

* * *

Meanwhile, the parents were discussing their children's fates.

"Ron, love, don't you think this is a little harsh? I mean, we did already buy all their presents."

"No, Hermione, I don't think it's harsh! If we renege on this threat, how are they going to learn a lesson?"

"Well, Ron, maybe the threat is all that's needed to get the message across," George pointed out. "Besides…it's Christmas." All the adults laughed. Just then, Teddy entered the room.

"I thought we told you to…"

"Stay in our room, I know, Uncle Ron, but I've got something to say." Teddy took a breath before continuing. "Those Slytherin boys were making fun of Albus. They shoved him and called him a twerp when he accidentally bumped into them. It got me really mad, so I confronted them. I started the whole thing, and goaded the others on. Take away my presents; I don't care. Just leave the others out of it."

The adults looked at each other. But before they could decide on anything, all the other grandchildren came running into the room crying, moved that Teddy had been willing to take sole responsibility for the incident.

"Take away our presents, too! You can give us all coal if you want!" they begged, Roxy and Lily and Hugo included. "We're sorry!"

That did it. All the parents fell back onto the old no-allowance punishment, but had it apply only for the holiday season. They even took away the littlest ones' allowances, at their insistence because they wanted it to be even.

Later that evening, everyone sat down to watch Christmas movies. Grandma Molly passed around drinks for everyone. Suddenly, Harry stood up.

"A toast!" he called. "To family."

"To family!" everyone chorused. And with that, the large Weasley brood cuddled as the snow fell peacefully outside.


End file.
